He would pay a king’s ransom to know what she was thinking.
“I am going to check in with Bryant, my first mate. The time should give you enough privacy to ready yourself for bed.”
Though he wouldn’t have thought it possible, her cheeks flamed brighter than before.
Without another word, he turned and left the room. If he stayed, he’d be tempted to pull her into his arms and devour her. And he needed to take his time if this was going to work.
Lucas stepped onto the upper deck and was immediately buffeted by the strong winds.
They were making good time, and he had no reason to think the weather wouldn’t hold out for them.
All things considered, now that he had a plan for revenge, things were going quite well.
“Ahoy, Captain.”
Lucas turned to see Bryant walking toward him.
“Any problems?” Lucas asked after greeting the man.
“None at all. Though Sanderson tells me you’ve locked yourself away this evening. Anything I should know?”
“Sanderson is worse than an old lady with his twittering,” Lucas said flatly, though he wasn’t surprised. Bryant kept atop everything that went on.
More importantly, he was a friend. And, yes, there was something he should know. “Actually, I have a matter I need to discuss with you.”
Bryant raised a brow but nodded immediately.
“Your cabin?” he asked.
“No,” Lucas said, immediately earning himself another raised brow. “Let’s just do a walk round the deck.”
He turned and began walking slowly, trusting Bryant to follow him.
There wasn’t as much bustle on deck as there would be during daylight hours. A few sailors playing cards, a lookout in the crow’s nest. Nothing of any note.
They passed the small group of the men with cards, and they all called a respectful greeting.
One of them, Lucas didn’t recognise, but as he passed, the stranger lifted his face to greet him, same as the others.
Immediately, Lucas’ hair stood on end. The man was innocuous-looking, no different from the hundreds of sailors Lucas had met before. Yet, something about him set him on edge.
“You are Doyle?” he asked by way of greeting.
“Aye, Captain,” the other man said, his tone polite and respectful.
And yet…
“Welcome aboard,” Lucas said with a quick smile before moving on.
He made a note to look deeper into the man’s past, though he had no doubt Bryant had conducted a thorough investigation.
The Adventurer was carrying a valuable load. Not only that, but it was part of his shipping company’s modest-yet-successful fleet, and as such, Lucas liked to ensure that he could trust implicitly everyone involved with it.
“Is everything well, Captain?” Bryant asked, and Lucas realised he had yet to mention Anna.
But how to go about bringing her up? How to explain the long and complicated history they had?
“There’s a woman on the ship,” he blurted out.
Bryant, being his usual stoic self, merely nodded as though this weren’t a tremendous shock.
“Right. Er—” The man seemed utterly lost for words, which was understandable, to be fair.
“I know her,” Lucas confirmed, thinking that he should have perhaps started off with that information.
“There’s a woman I know on the ship” might have been better.
“Oh.”
Bryant didn’t speak any further, which, again, was understandable.
Lucas realised he was making an almighty mess of this. He heaved a sigh and wished desperately for a drink. But his much-loved whiskey was currently in his cabin with Anna, who was getting undressed…
Hell and damnation.
This was going to be a long journey.
But before he could deal with his raging lust, he had to deal with his rather shocked and confused friend.
“Anna Grant, the sister of Jonathan Spencer, stowed away on the ship this morning,” Lucas started matter-of-factly, as though a Society widow sneaking onto a ship destined for the West Indies were an everyday occurrence. “I discovered her a while ago trying sneak into the galley.”
Bryant nodded. It seemed he, too, would act as though this were entirely normal.
“I’ll give orders to turn around, Captain,” he said after a moment’s silence. “Though ‘tis a shame to lose the day’s sailing.”
This was the part Lucas had been dreading. Bryant knew him — that was the problem — and he would see through Lucas’ lies.
“As to that,” he said, still feigning a casualness that he didn’t feel, “I have decided to allow her to remain on board.”
This time, Bryant did react.
“Captain, you can’t!” he exclaimed, looking horrified at the thought.
“I can, and I will,” Lucas said firmly, not willing to discuss it too much further. “Now, obviously she can’t stay hidden away for the next four months. So we will tell the crew that my betrothed is on board.”
The other man looked fit to have an apoplexy.
“Betrothed?” he spluttered.
Lucas was expecting him to point out all the many ways that this was an idiotic and foolhardy thing to do.
To his surprise, however, Bryant grasped his hand and pumped it, enthusiastically belting him on the back.
“Captain! Congratulations. You never said. That is wonderful news. Wonderful news, indeed.”
Lucas accepted the congratulations with some bemusement. He had planned to let Bryant in on the fact that it was to be a ruse. Have an ally of sorts.
But then, he reasoned, while his first mate waxed lyrical about how wonderful it was, Bryant was a man of outstanding moral fibre. And he would probably defy Lucas’ orders and turn the ship around himself if he thought the lady was going to lose all respectability by remaining on it.
“It is rather unconventional, Captain, if you don’t mind my saying. Was there a reason you didn’t marry before we sailed? And why did she stowaway if she is your fiancé?”
Lucas detected the faint trace of censure in the man’s tone, and he scrambled around for a reason for their supposed elopement, which it would be, were it true.
“As to why she snuck on board, well, I ah — I didn’t think it would be appropriate for her to come with us without our being married, but she is a tenacious sort. We knew each other years ago, you see, and only discovered that we were still in love before I was due to sail, so there wasn’t time to arrange a marriage, but we’ve lived apart for long enough. Neither of us wanted to say goodbye again. Anna was brave enough to take the steps required for us to remain together. And I’m glad she did.”
Lucas ignored the strange tightening in his chest at the words.
Bryant thankfully seemed convinced by them, even a little misty eyed. Who would have thought the rugged first mate would be a romantic?
“That’s wonderful, Captain,” Bryant said again. “Well, we will all make sure that the lady has a comfortable journey, make no mistake.”
Lucas thanked Bryant, knowing that the man would keep the crew in good order when Anna was around.
He turned to make his way back down to his cabin, but paused and turned back toward Bryant,
“This Doyle character,” Lucas said quietly to ensure he wouldn’t be heard aby anyone but Bryant, “How much do we truly know about him?”
Bryant frowned in obvious confusion.
Lucas never questioned the man’s crew selections.
“He checked out,” Bryant said confidently. “But I will make subtle enquiries with the crew. Nobody knows sailors like other sailors, Captain.”
“True enough. And I have no doubt that if there had been a record of unsavoury behaviour, you would have unconvered it,” Lucas assured his first mate. “But it never hurts to know the unofficial stories, too.”
Bryant nodded his agreement before moving off to do Lucas’s bidding.
A more loyal or trust
worthy second-in-command he couldn’t have wished for.
And he knew that Bryant would make sure Anna was well cared for if for any reason Lucas himself couldn’t do so.
Making his way back to his faux-betrothed, Lucas couldn’t help but think that if Anna really was his fiancé, he’d be rather pleased that she was sharing this journey with him.
ANNA PACED THE small cabin until she thought she might wear a hole through the rug.
Lucas had left her ages ago, and for the first few moments after he’d quietly shut the door behind him, she’d merely stood rooted to the spot, staring at nothing.
She would be sharing his bed.
Good Lord. She would be sharing his bed.
Anna didn’t know quite how to feel about that.
Nervous, of course. Terrified, actually.
And should anyone ever find out well, her reputation would never recover.
And yet…
If she were being entirely honest with herself, the idea excited her more than it should.
The idea of months and months of quiet, peaceful nights being pressed tightly against his large, muscled body was enough to have her legs almost buckling.
She had finally moved herself to peel the stable hand’s clothes from her body and risked a quick wash, hoping fervently that Lucas wouldn’t choose that moment to return.
The water was tepid now, but it was still refreshing, and she enjoyed being able to feel clean.
Rummaging through her small, hastily-packed bag, she found her simple, cotton night-rail and tried to shake the creases out as best she could.
It was useless, of course.
She threw the garment over her head then smoothed it down before reaching into the bag for a comb to try and tame her hair, which was, no doubt, completely wild and unruly by now.
She wished, not for the first time, that she’d attempted to convince a maid to run away with her. She certainly wouldn’t be spending the next few months looking well put together.
That idea shouldn’t bother her, but it did.
Now, she paced the room alone, wondering if Lucas was going to come back, since he’d been gone an age.
Feeling both restless and bone-weary, Anna made her way to the bench beneath the portholes. Kneeling on the soft cushion, she peered out into the darkness.
The porthole wasn’t big, and she couldn’t see much more than the moonlight reflected on the inky surface of the water.
The ship swayed gently in the breeze, and the water lapped against the edge of the boat, the sound rhythmic and soothing, and Anna felt her eyelids droop.
It had been a long, trying, and emotionally exhausting day, and her limbs began to feel heavy, her mind fuzzy with fatigue.
Perhaps she would lay her head down on the bench, just until Lucas returned. Because they needed to straighten out this sleeping situation.
He might think she was being ridiculously pious about sleeping beside him. Little did he know that she knew there was no way her heart would survive the intimacy of being so close to him, yet so far apart from what they’d once been.
LUCAS ENTERED THE cabin minutes later, confronted by the sight of Anna curled up on the bench, sleeping like a contented cat.
Her hands were tucked under her head, her golden hair tumbling around her in disarray.
Lucas’ heart slammed in his chest as he watched her.
God, she looks innocent.
Her white night-rail swamped her, but rather than allow him to ignore what was underneath, it only made him all the more curious, and his mouth dried at the prospect of having her pressed against him.
He had planned to start his seduction tonight. After all, he wanted her with a need that bordered on insanity at times.
But he couldn’t do it.
He couldn’t wake her from what was obviously a peaceful sleep, given how still she was.
Sighing and calling himself all kinds of idiot, Lucas walked softy toward her.
Without examining his actions too closely, he bent to sweep her into his arms.
Anna stirred slightly, and it was enough to have him groaning aloud.
She’d be the death of him.
Her eyes opened momentarily, and she gazed up at him with her deep amber eyes glazed with slumber.
“Lucas?”
Her voice was a mere whisper.
“Shh, sweetheart,” he whispered back, making his way to the bunk. “Go back to sleep.”
With a soft smile, she curved against him, so innocent, so trusting.
It would be so easy to think that she had a good heart.
So easy to fall back into making her the centre of his universe.
And that would destroy him for good.
Lucas laid Anna gently on the bed and pulled the covers over her.
A strand of hair fell over her face, and without thinking, he brushed it aside, then, because he was every kind of idiot and he wouldn’t be getting a wink of sleep, in any case, he leaned down and brushed his lips softly against her forehead.
Now, when he sat across from her on that damned bench all night, he’d have something to torture himself with.
He wouldn’t lie beside her this night. She needed some sleep.
And he needed some distance.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
WHEN ANNA AWOKE, squinting in the harsh sunlight, she had no idea where she was.
Where was her bed?
Where were her duck egg bed hangings and matching coverlet?
Anna sat up, gasping at the stiffness in her neck and back.
She looked around the room, and it all came rushing back to her.
The ship… running away…
Lucas!
Her eyes darted to the space beside her on the bunk, but it was empty, and from the coolness of the sheets, it had been for some time.
Anna frowned and looked around her surroundings once more.
The sunlight that had woken her was shining through the portholes, which gave more light than she had expected they would.
The bench where she’d dozed off last night contained a rumpled blanket, and Anna realised that Lucas must have slept on it last night.
Her stomach fluttered with something she couldn’t identify.
He had said he would be sleeping alongside her, yet he’d spent the night on the bench.
She couldn’t imagine how he could have been comfortable, given that he stood over six feet tall, and given the breadth of his shoulders, the size of his muscular thighs…
Her mind began to wander in the most shocking way, and Anna felt suddenly far too hot and restless.
How had she gotten to the bed? Lucas must have carried her.
Again, her stomach flipped in that silly way.
She had a hazy memory of the night before… being pressed against his warm, solid chest… him calling her sweetheart…
Did I feel the brush of his lips?
No. She shook the thought from her head. What folly!
He would never call her an endearment, and he certainly wouldn’t kiss her again.
The thought made her feel rather desolate, but she refused to let the feeling take hold.
Now was not the time to be maudlin. She was off on her great adventure!
The sound of the door opening had Anna whipping round to face it, her heart suddenly hammering.
And then, he was there.
Lucas filled the doorway, his smile warm and open and taking her breath away.
He was balancing a tray in his hands, and Anna’s stomach growled in response. She was famished again.
She returned his smile hesitantly, not really knowing how she should be, feeling nervous and insecure.
“Good morning,” Lucas greeted, his tone friendly as if they were the best of friends. “I trust you slept well?”
“Y-yes,” Anna answered, her nerves showing in her voice. “Very well. In fact, I don’t even remember falling asleep.”
“The sea air will do that,” Lucas answered, mov
ing to set the tray down on the small table where she’d eaten last night. “I never sleep as well on dry land as I do aboard a ship.”
Anna didn’t quite know what to make of his friendly tone and chatter.
But she wasn’t complaining. It was infinitely better than his usual sour expression or cold, thinly veiled digs.
“I assume I have you to thank for my being in the bunk this morning,” she said softly, clasping her hands together to stop from wringing them nervously. “And, well, I appreciate it. It was very kind.”
Lucas studied her for a moment then marched over and unclasped her hands. To her delight, he kept them captive in his own.
“Anna,” he said softly, “we decided to leave the past in the past, did we not?”
She couldn’t speak so she nodded instead.
“So then, let us not be strangers, or uncomfortable with each other, hmm?”
His tone was soothing, gentle, as though speaking to a skittish colt, and the heat from his hands seared her skin.
Suddenly, Anna felt incredibly, heart-soaringly happy.
She smiled widely.
“That sounds wonderful.”
Lucas looked momentarily stunned before he shook his head quickly, smiling in response.
“Wonderful,” he repeated. “Now, you are no doubt hungry, and we have things to discuss, so let’s break our fast.”
He held out a chair for her, and Anna sat, thanking him.
He really did have delightful manners. He’d always been what Anna considered a true gentleman, but now he had that polish that Society men were required to have. He could bless any ballroom in Europe and stand out only for his size and handsomeness.
Lucas sat opposite her, and Anna began pouring the tea. She knew how he took it, because she remembered every little thing about their limited time together at Jonathan’s house, even while he’d either been ignoring her existence or snipping at her. She realised how pathetic this made her, and he was sure to notice for he was watching her closely.
Lucas had the good grace not to question it, however, and took his cup with thanks.
Anna was surprised at the food on offer: ham, eggs, even jams and preserves to go with the bread.
It must have shown in her face, too, for Lucas smiled ruefully.
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